Vaginal diaphragm



March 11, 1941. w. v. LAY" VAGINAL DIAPHRAGM Filed Sept. 29, 1939 INVENTOR Wm;wp K ZAY %Wrri ivm Paiented Mar. 11, 1941 UNITED S-TATES PATENT OFFICE f:

VAGINAL DIAPHRA GM Willard V. Lay, Denver, Colo.

Appllcatlon September 29, 1939, Serial N0. 297,026 4 Claim. (01. 12s 12'7) 'I'his invention relates I'.o a. vaginal diaphragm tor the apglicatlon 01 medication to I'.he vaginal portion of the cervix uteri and to isolate the cervical portlon of I:he uterus.

The objectlon to the usual diaphragm is that lt will not stay in position and1t 1s impossible to ascertain whether the diaphragm has become distorted and in whlch direction II; ls distorted when in place in the vaglna.

The principal object of this invention ls to provide a. vaginal diaphragm construction which, when subjected Iso the slde pressure of the vagina, will automatically form an arcuate curve with r theextremities thereof extending upwardly into the upper vault cf the vagina. so tha,t lt will automatlcally enclose the cervix and'retain its position in the upper vault of the vagina.

Another object of the lnvention ls t so con= struct the diaphragm that when subjected tb slde pressurelt can curve In one directlon only, so

that lt can lie only in the proper positlon at all tlmes.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which ls d'eslgned for simpliclty, economy, and efilciency. These will become more apparen't from the following descrlptlon.

In I;he following detailed description of the invention referenc e is had to the accompanylng drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer I;o like parts In all vlews bf the draw- Ing and throughout the descriptlon.

In the drawlne:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved diaphragm in its natural position when not subjected to slde pressure.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the automaisic curvature formed when the diaphragm is subjected to slde pressure.

Fig. 3 is a iragmentary sagittal .section illustrating the position cf the diaphragm in the vaeina.

Fig. 4 ls a cross sectional'view through the improved diaphragm in its uncompressed conditlon.

Flg. 5 is a similar view as it wouldappear when subjected to slde pressure.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic section illustrating th action of the usual type o1 diaphragm.

The improved diaphragm is formecl from rubber or similar flexible, water-proof, resilient materlal. It conslsts of a relatively thick, annular, resilient perlpheral rim I of triangular cross section. In cross sectlon, the rim presents a right triangle with one face outlining a cylinder coaxial wlth the axis o% the rim and with I:he adjacent rectilinear face lying In a plane ab righl:

angles I.o the axis o1 the rim. The outer face of the rim is lncllned and torms I:he hypotenuse ot the triangular cross sectlon so as to present a relatively shaxp ofiset outeredge II.

The entire midportion'of the rim II) is' closed by a very thin, flexible Sack or diaphrag'm I2. The entire article is molded as a unlt so that the diaphragm and the rim are integral with each 10 Plane 015 I;he rim is .i1'1dlcated by the line A.

The edge II cf the rim, lt will be noted, ls poslpressure is applled an this edge, lt tends to rotate I:he rim in the direction indicated by the 'arrows B. This downward rotation 01 the rim ed ges snaps I:he intermediate sections 01' the rim upwardly as indicated by the arrow C. This movexnent of the rim is always uniform and always in the same direciaion and can not be otherwise. II; is thls particular feature that retains the diaphragm in place in the upper vault oi the vagina over the cervleeil portion o1 the uterus. In Flg. 3 =theposltion of the dlaphragm in the vagina is diagrammatically indidated.

Before Insertion, the sides 01 therim are compressed as shown in Fig. 2. The contracted end of I;he rim is then inserted past the cervix, indica.ted a1; IG, sp that the other contracted end the'reof will curve upwardly lnto the tlssues of the upper vault of the Vagina, lmmediately back of the publc bone, as shown at I6. The bottom wall of the vaglna, acts as a fulcrum to hold these two upper points in. position, and absolutely prevents their dislodgement.

Let us conslcler the actlon of theusual type of diaphragm, such a.s shown ab I5 In Fig. 6. In thls form, pressure on the sidesfas indicated by the arrows D" is in the axlal plane cf the rim, so that the rim need n0I. curve in any direction, :but can slmply compressln a flat plane along the axis line E. II? subjected to unter slde pressure; iI; can b'e distorted upwardly as indicated at F or downwardly, as shown aI; G."

tioned to one slde of the axl's A so that, when 'Ihereifore, wlien lt is in place in the vagina.

there is no assurance o! its position since lt may= become distorted to curve downwardly in the opposite direction of Fig. 3, or can lie in. a flai: plane across the vagina. All of these objections have been obviated by the automatic am produced by the applicants rim when under compresslon.

II: is desired to call particular attention to the supporting l'eature 01 the improved dlaphragm; As before stated, the conflning pressure 01 the side walls of the vaglna causes the arced posterior an'd anterior extremities bf the rim to eleva.te in the vaginal vault where they will aci; to iorce redundant tissue, or a prolapsed bladder or uterus, back lnto normal position. The vvelght 015 the prolapsed organs, and/or tlssue, is flexlbly resiliently, uniformly, and radially distributed over all areas of the rim contactlng the vaginal vault and ls not concentratedat any polnt or points. Thus the improved vaginal diaphragm form3an ideal supporting pesary where its use is indicatgecl for prolapsed conditions.

While a speclfle form of the improvement has been describecl and illustrated herein, lt is desired to be understood that the same may be varled, wlthin the scope of the appended clalms, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having tl1us descrlbed the invention, what ls claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A vaginal diaphragm comprlsing: an annular ring of resilient material, said ring belng completely triangular er three slded in cross section: and a flexible diaphragm closing the middie of said ring.

2. A vaginal diaphragm comprising: an annular rim o resilient material, said rim being triangular the bottom. lace lying in a plane a1; rlght abgles to the inner face, the unter face being lncllned irom the top of the inner face to the outer edge o! the bottom lace; and a thln flexible diaphragm extendi ng across the circular area de!- fined by said rim.

3. A vaginal diaphragm comprising: an annular rim oi resilient material, said rim being trianzu1ar in cross section so as to present only three faces, the inner face outllnl ng a cyllnder. the bottom Iace lying in a plane ab right angles to the inner iace, the outer face beim lnclined from the'top of the inner face to the outer edge of the bottom lace; and a. thin flexible diaphragm extending lrom the annular junction line between the inner and bottom taces acrossthe circulararea defined by said rim.

4. In a vaginal diaphragm ofthe type having an annular rim of resllient material with a thin flexible diaphragm extending across the clrcular area defined by said rim, means for causing said rim to always =bow upwardly at i;he ends when the same is compressed inwarclly at the sides comprising: an annular inclined upper surface on said. rim extendlng froxn the inner diameter thereoi' outwardly and downwardly to the outer cross section so as to present only three Iaces. the inner tace oi1tlinlng a cylinder,

d iameter thereot so as to position the peripheral 1 edge thereof in a plane below the medial dia- 

